Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, October 3
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
3:30 p.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
Akron
Photo by: Kailey Hill '26 - @rahsignz
Football Preview: MAC Opener, Homecoming, and Something to Avenge
10/1/2026 2:22:00 PM | Football
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Chippewas open league play at home vs. Akron on Saturday
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The preliminaries are out of the way, and now it's an eight-game season against opponents in their own weight class.
Plenty of angles to consider as the Central Michigan football team (2-2) prepares to entertain Akron (1-3) on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
It is the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams, it is CMU's homecoming, and there is a loss – a bad loss – to avenge.
"There's not another game on our schedule I have thought about more," second-year CMU coach Matt Drinkall said. "I've thought about this Akron game, conservatively, 50 times a day, every day, for the last 365 days because we failed to perform to our standards in that game."
That game, a 28-22 Zips win in Akron, was CMU's first league loss in 2025 and it knocked the Chippewas off track. They would later lose conference games to eventual-league champion Western Michigan and to Toledo, but it was the Akron game that set the tone for a 5-3 (fifth place) MAC finish.
"We did not play well in the game, not up to our standards," Drinkall said. "It wasn't just offense or just defense. We didn't convert on sequencing downs. We were poor in short yardage. We settled for field goals. We gave up explosive plays. We had busted coverages. We made poor coaching decisions. We didn't have them prepared for certain in-game situations.
"I can handle losing. I can't handle losing when the product is bad and the product was bad because of me a year ago and I have got to make sure we get it right."
The Chippewas emerged from the nonconference portion of their schedule a not-unexpected 2-2, with a dominant 24-10 home win over Wyoming as the highlight.
The two losses came by a combined 90-10, the first in the season opener at New Mexico, which is now 3-1 and among the favorites in the Mountain West Conference; and the second, last week, at now-No. 4 Miami (Fla.), which could very well be on its way to a second consecutive national championship game appearance.
None of those, good or bad, really matter now as the Chippewas, who finished anywhere from third-sixth in MAC presason polls, look ahead to the conference schedule.
"The reality is, we're in league play," Drinkall said. "They're all Super Bowls now. You have to treat every game like it's the Western Michigan game. And then when you play the Western Michigan game, that's got to be treated like something totally different that you didn't even know existed.
"The first four (games), it's not all apples to apples. You're trying to win and manage games in weird ways while you're also sticking to who you are and developing and growing. It's a very nuanced, complicated way to grow.
"Like a year ago, when we took over the program, you go get your head kicked in by Pitt and Michigan, back to back, and you're sitting there trying to explain to a group of (new players) that the things that we are doing are right, and we are getting better, even though you are getting the exact opposite result of what (you desire)."
The Chippewas are in the same spot, record wise, as they were a year ago on the eve of the MAC. And while they are .500 again, they are in a much better spot, program wide, than they were in 2025, Drinkall said.
We are "getting the right people on the bus and then in the right seats," he said. "It took a while to get that and we've really kind of settled into that."
Akron's lone victory came over Football Championship Subdivision Robert Morris. The Zips have lost in relative blowouts to Wake Forest, Minnesota and UNLV.
Statistically, the game figures to be low scoring. Both offenses rank in the bottom 20 percent in the nation, while the Chippewas sport a defense that ranks sixth in the MAC, and that comes after surrendering 572 yards a week ago to the Hurricanes, who have the No. 1 offense in the nation.
Doubtful that the Chippewas will ever put up those kinds of numbers while Drinkall is in charge. They aren't built that way; instead, he is building an offense that is constructed for long drives, primarily on the ground, and controls the clock.
CMU finished with 339 rushing yards two weeks ago in its win over Wyoming. It marked the Chippewas' highest rushing total since they ran for 352 in a Sept. 12, 2019 win over New Mexico State.
"That was kind of a moment that clicked for me," center Losini Maka said. "It was like, This is going to be our standard now. We can achieve that, we've just got to make sure that we're playing our ball. When we're focused on our identity and our culture and how we play ball, sky's the limit."
Maka, like so many on the Chippewa roster, is in his first season at CMU. The fifth-year transferred from Georgetown ahead of the 2026. Though he wasn't on the field a year ago when CMU fell to Akron, he is well aware of what this game means to Drinkall and, therefore, the program.
"This is like us getting not only payback, but also like sending a message.," he said. "This is something that we've been working on ever since winter."
Plenty of angles to consider as the Central Michigan football team (2-2) prepares to entertain Akron (1-3) on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
It is the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams, it is CMU's homecoming, and there is a loss – a bad loss – to avenge.
"There's not another game on our schedule I have thought about more," second-year CMU coach Matt Drinkall said. "I've thought about this Akron game, conservatively, 50 times a day, every day, for the last 365 days because we failed to perform to our standards in that game."
That game, a 28-22 Zips win in Akron, was CMU's first league loss in 2025 and it knocked the Chippewas off track. They would later lose conference games to eventual-league champion Western Michigan and to Toledo, but it was the Akron game that set the tone for a 5-3 (fifth place) MAC finish.
"We did not play well in the game, not up to our standards," Drinkall said. "It wasn't just offense or just defense. We didn't convert on sequencing downs. We were poor in short yardage. We settled for field goals. We gave up explosive plays. We had busted coverages. We made poor coaching decisions. We didn't have them prepared for certain in-game situations.
"I can handle losing. I can't handle losing when the product is bad and the product was bad because of me a year ago and I have got to make sure we get it right."
The Chippewas emerged from the nonconference portion of their schedule a not-unexpected 2-2, with a dominant 24-10 home win over Wyoming as the highlight.
The two losses came by a combined 90-10, the first in the season opener at New Mexico, which is now 3-1 and among the favorites in the Mountain West Conference; and the second, last week, at now-No. 4 Miami (Fla.), which could very well be on its way to a second consecutive national championship game appearance.
None of those, good or bad, really matter now as the Chippewas, who finished anywhere from third-sixth in MAC presason polls, look ahead to the conference schedule.
"The reality is, we're in league play," Drinkall said. "They're all Super Bowls now. You have to treat every game like it's the Western Michigan game. And then when you play the Western Michigan game, that's got to be treated like something totally different that you didn't even know existed.
"The first four (games), it's not all apples to apples. You're trying to win and manage games in weird ways while you're also sticking to who you are and developing and growing. It's a very nuanced, complicated way to grow.
"Like a year ago, when we took over the program, you go get your head kicked in by Pitt and Michigan, back to back, and you're sitting there trying to explain to a group of (new players) that the things that we are doing are right, and we are getting better, even though you are getting the exact opposite result of what (you desire)."
The Chippewas are in the same spot, record wise, as they were a year ago on the eve of the MAC. And while they are .500 again, they are in a much better spot, program wide, than they were in 2025, Drinkall said.
We are "getting the right people on the bus and then in the right seats," he said. "It took a while to get that and we've really kind of settled into that."
Akron's lone victory came over Football Championship Subdivision Robert Morris. The Zips have lost in relative blowouts to Wake Forest, Minnesota and UNLV.
Statistically, the game figures to be low scoring. Both offenses rank in the bottom 20 percent in the nation, while the Chippewas sport a defense that ranks sixth in the MAC, and that comes after surrendering 572 yards a week ago to the Hurricanes, who have the No. 1 offense in the nation.
Doubtful that the Chippewas will ever put up those kinds of numbers while Drinkall is in charge. They aren't built that way; instead, he is building an offense that is constructed for long drives, primarily on the ground, and controls the clock.
CMU finished with 339 rushing yards two weeks ago in its win over Wyoming. It marked the Chippewas' highest rushing total since they ran for 352 in a Sept. 12, 2019 win over New Mexico State.
"That was kind of a moment that clicked for me," center Losini Maka said. "It was like, This is going to be our standard now. We can achieve that, we've just got to make sure that we're playing our ball. When we're focused on our identity and our culture and how we play ball, sky's the limit."
Maka, like so many on the Chippewa roster, is in his first season at CMU. The fifth-year transferred from Georgetown ahead of the 2026. Though he wasn't on the field a year ago when CMU fell to Akron, he is well aware of what this game means to Drinkall and, therefore, the program.
"This is like us getting not only payback, but also like sending a message.," he said. "This is something that we've been working on ever since winter."
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